The great British baked bean in Poland

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans (if you've never heard of them)

Got a tin of Tesco's baked beans here, and was looking forward to it. But something's lacking in the sauce. Tested them on their own and on toast.

This means I'll have to try Heinz Fasola which I hope is the same recipe as in England. Of course, many Brits will tell you they prefer Crosse & Blackwell's baked beans to Heinz's. Or Branston's. Personally, Sainsbury's own label is fine for me, and might be repackaged Heinz's anyway.

Yes of course, with a nice range of Polish foods here in Poland, baked beans are not that important at all except for a rare treat (although in England they're considered a pauper's dish).

For anyone browsing and who's in Wroc, there's a shop at Magnolia Park retail mall which has quite a few UK brands and foods from all over. I think it is called World Foods. You can get quite a few things in there.

This is a common problem with supermarket own brands. I am not a huge baked bean fan, but I do love me some Spaghetti Hoops. The key is in the seasoning, it's the same basic sauce, but different companies have slightly different seasoning profiles. What you want to do is heat it up on the hob, then adjust the seasoning to suit, tasting as you go. I generally find that salt and sugar are all I need to get a Heinz like flavour. Experimentation is your friend here.

I'll give it a go! Auchan and some other supermarkets have a brand or two stocked now (at Auchan they're in glass jars btw).

You definitely should, I discovered it back in the UK when I got hoops on special in the co-op and they were nothing like Heinz, cost almost nothing though so I was happy to play about with spices and seasoning until I got it good. You never know, you might get a blend that is even BETTER than Heinz!

Steady on! :D

I'm not sure, I'd suspect that they are not (I remember that the ones in Switzerland were not the same as in England). I always add lots of sauces to baked beans anyway: try adding some Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, and perhaps a bit of habanero sauce and some jalapeno sauce, and a hint of wasabi.

Will do, thanks Harry

Merged: Where can I buy Baked Beans in Poland??

Just the normal British type or a polish variant if need be.... ???

Cheers

I buy Heinz at my local Carrefour. Where are you in Poland?

Marks & spencer

tesco

you will get it in Auchan, Alma and Tesco. I bought it few weeks ago. Heinz baked beans. Same label, same colour of the tin and same taste! I think it was around 6-7zl for 400g- But I am not sure.

They're about 5zl a tin if you know where to look ;o)

4,23pln in carrefour near me they were more but i buy 10tins a week as do 2 other english guys nearly had a barney when they ran out

I never realized baked beans were British.

British English "baked beans" = American English "Pork-n-beans". Yes, that's right. These guys are nostalgic for fricking measly Pork-n-beans from the can, not anything resembling Boston baked beans or any of the homemade American versions with tomatoes or barbecue sauce, or the Mexican version. Kind of odd, because they got it from America in the first place (it was sent over to serve as wartime rations for British soldiers and civilians). The Heinz they are talking about is, of course, the same company from Pittsburgh that produces ketchup.

But then, Filipinos consider Spam a delicacy, for the same reason. I think Hormel sells more Spam in the Philippines than in the US, just like Heinz sells more "baked beans" in the UK than in the US.

For our Brit friends, Pork-n-beans (and Spam) are considered poverty food in the States, and bring back unpleasant memories of the Great Depression, or of a deprived childhood in some God-awful white trash trailer park next to a NASCAR track somewhere down there in the Bible Belt. Not too many people feel nostalgic about them.

Our versions of baked beans, on the other hand, are generally homemade and much better than the canned version, and are considered an art form, particularly in the Northeastern and Southwestern parts of the county. Even in the Mid West and South, you'll be hard pressed to find a barbecue or church dinner to which someone doesn't bring homemade baked beans. People do get the warm fuzzies over these versions.

I've been living in Poland for twelve years now, and Mexican baked beans are a regular part of my diet. I make a huge pot almost every week. (Reminds me of my grad student days in San Diego). I make a pot of Boston baked beans about once a year, because molasses is a bear to find in this country. That's the version I grew up with.

Baked Beans, from the UK, contain no sausage/pork.

It's not an essential ingredient in "Pork-n-Beans", either, despite the name. There are also vegetarian versions in the States, too, and most Americans would refer to these as "Pork-n-Beans", too, even though they don't contain any pork at all. When sold in the States, the can usually contains a measly five-gram piece of hideous pork fat, whereas in the UK, it does not. Otherwise, they are identical.

Not in Marks and Spencer, that's for sure!

Well yes, they are of course identical, even though they are different ;)

Now that I think about it, we never had baked beans at our house either; so why are baked beans in Poland comfort food? Now that I think further about it, the time I ate most baked beans was when I was a student and couldn't afford anything other than Asda baked beans, that was not a particularly comfortable time in my life. But with that said, baked beans (with some Lea & Perrins, Blair's Pure Death and a pinch of Sharwood's madras powder) on toast (buttered and topped with Marmite and perhaps a touch of Cheddar) is a cracking meal of one, about once or twice a month anyway.


Baked beans: the kosher pork 'n beans.

And that's why it's comfort food, cheap and cheerful and brings back memories of younger days. Maybe people ate baked beans because they had no money, but looking back you see the good memories of those times when you eat them.

I know that for me the best comfort food is Marshall's Macaroni Cheese in a box (Made with Real Cheddar...powder no less!) and packs of Batchelor's Pasta and Sauce. That's what I lived on when I was working 80 odd hours in hospitality. Yes, it was a fine dining restaurant and I would have some of the finest food ever at work from time to time, but I go home after 16 hours on my feet and all I want is something that will be ready in 5 minutes. I still love the stuff, as awful as it is for you.

You mean those baked beans that Brits have for their traditional English breakfast? I always considered it an unusual idea to eat beans in the morning.

Vile things really.

Though I notice more and more places here in Poland selling them.


Very few people eat that in the morning. Maybe people doing heavy work and needing the protein and carbs. Nowadays they call it an "All-day breakfast".

How about Sundays? I still remember that scene from Trainspotting, but indeed it was made in late 1990s.

Some families maybe; most want to relax on Sunday mornings.

It's not the kind of thing that people bother making at home; most cooked breakfasts happen in cafes and rarely at breakfast time.

Baked beans are often eaten with heavily buttered toast or as part of kids' meals.